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Modbury The Facts

The first village in South Devon to become totally plastic carrier bag free - I got one of their reusable bags.

The UK town of Modbury in Devon became the first in Europe to ban plastic carrier bags. In 2008 the town's 43 shops rallied together to go plastic bag free. Traders both large and small have joined the campaign --- including the local supermarket. On an average day it gave away as many as 1,000 carrier bags.

Shoppers will get 100% biodegradable cornstarch bags, recyclable paper bags or reusable cotton and jute bags, supplied by a company from Cornwall. The idea was the brainchild of a wildlife camerawoman from the town. Rebecca Hosking said when she was filming off Hawaii, she was moved to tears by the impact of plastic rubbish on marine life. To get a group of independently minded people to come together for a single purpose is no mean feat Rod Baker, Bags2Keep "What really brought it home for me was one day filming a turtle," she said. "It had a plastic bag in its mouth and was slowly dying, there was nothing we could do. "We were also filming albatross who were picking up plastic and feeding it to their chicks and we saw so many suffer a slow and painful death. "I turned the camera off and just broke down crying." When the 33-year-old returned home to Modbury, she set out on a mission to turn the town plastic-bag-free and managed to convince each and every trader to get on board.